Pietas

The Romans had many virtues which they all tried to achieve to become the 'model' Roman citizen. Below is a list of some of the main virtues desirable of all Romans. Even women were held to some of these standards! The list below is from Wikipedia, and each virtue has a link to its respective Wikipedia article for further explanation.

• Auctoritas — "Spiritual Authority" — The sense of one's social standing, built up through experience, Pietas, and Industria.
• Comitas — "Humour" — Ease of manner, courtesy, openness, and friendliness.
• Constantia — "Perseverance" — Military stamina, mental and physical endurance.
• Clementia — "Mercy" — Mildness and gentleness.
• Dignitas — "Dignity" — A sense of self-worth, personal pride.
• Disciplina — "Discipline" — Military oath under Roman protective law & citizenship.
• Firmitas — "Tenacity" — Strength of mind, the ability to stick to one's purpose.
• Frugalitas — "Frugality" — Economy and simplicity of style, without being miserly.
• Gravitas — "Gravity" — A sense of the importance of the matter at hand, responsibility and earnestness.
• Honestas — "Respectability" — The image that one presents as a respectable member of society.
• Humanitas — "Humanity" — Refinement, civilization, learning, and being cultured.
• Industria — "Industriousness" — Hard work.
• Iustitia — "Justice" — Sense of moral worth to an action.

• Pietas — "Dutifulness" — More than religious piety; a respect for the natural order socially, politically, and religiously. Includes the ideas of patriotism and devotion to others.

• Prudentia — "Prudence" — Foresight, wisdom, and personal discretion.
• Salubritas — "Wholesomeness" — Health and cleanliness.
• Severitas — "Sternness" — Gravity, self-control.
• Veritas — "Truthfulness" — Honesty in dealing with others.

Instead of focusing on each virtue, which would be quite a task in and of itself, as a class we will be focusing on pietas. Aeneas is the embodiment of pietas. We will be examining this in more detail as we read the Aeneid.

http://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeneas-- This is an article about Aeneas, completely in Latin, which sums up the myth and showcases his pietas.

Click here for Ovid's explanation of Aeneas' piety in the Metamorphoses. Begin at line 623.

http://old.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0052 –This is an English translation of Vergil’s Aeneid. You can use this to find examples of pietas. Bring examples to class which showcase Aeneas' pietas for discussion.